Over the past few weeks, Montrealers have participated in large numbers in the consultation on the future of the Royal Victoria conducted by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal. Many of the recommendations presented therein are the responsibility of the Government of Quebec. He will have to take this into account for the future! The decisions that will be taken in this context are of crucial importance, both for the protection and enhancement of the former hospital complex and for Mount Royal.
Our organizations are joining forces to remind the Quebec government that it already has the legal and regulatory powers necessary to intervene in this file. Tools exist to protect this emblematic site, but also to give it a second life worthy of its history and worthy of the challenges of the 21st century.e century. In this sense, we expect him to quickly give clear directives to the Société québécoise des infrastructures, its real estate arm, so that it can ensure the preservation and rehabilitation of this priceless built and natural heritage for Quebec and better support them.
Unmissable decisions will have to be taken upstream
McGill University’s New Vic project – the only one that has been formally proposed for the site to date – is certainly very interesting. The challenges associated with the redevelopment of the entire site, however, are complex and fundamental questions remain. The Government of Quebec must respond to them as a priority. Considering the importance of the public investments that will be devoted to it and the inestimable value of the place for the people of Montreal and Quebec, we believe that, regardless of the choice of partners, the government must proceed to:
– urgent restoration of the buildings in order to avoid any further degradation due to the vacancy of the premises;
– the transfer by emphyteusis of the woodlots and naturalized areas of the site to the City of Montreal for the purposes of integration into the perimeter of Mount Royal Park and to allow better access from the mountain to the city and from the city to the mountain ;
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, PRESS ARCHIVES
The former Royal Victoria Hospital
– maintenance of public land ownership in order to avoid fragmentation of the entire site and to ensure consistent management, maintenance, development and protection over time, regardless of the occupants and their number;
– the implementation of modern urban planning, governance and financing tools to preserve the integrity of the site, its heritage character and its civic and community vocation;
– the holding of a formal and distinct public consultation on aspects relating to governance and land ownership of the site, including the development agreement involving the City, the Société québécoise des infrastructures and McGill, since these fundamental questions do not are not covered in this consultation.
Let us be visionaries, let us be courageous, let us be daring!
The requalification of the former Royal Victoria Hospital is undoubtedly one of the most important opportunities that Montreal has seen in decades to create a vast civic place, innovation and international influence for Quebec and the metropolis. By relying on the contribution of local stakeholders and the entire community to develop an inspiring vision for an exemplary project, this requalification must constitute a lasting and remarkable legacy to Quebec society.
* Co-signers: Sylvain Gariepy, president of the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec; Aline Berthe, president of the Montreal Regional Environmental Council; Catherine fernet, President of the Association of Landscape Architects of Quebec